


The Music

by Morgause1



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: A bit technical, Fear, Genderless Characters, Headcanon development, M/M, Moral Dilemmas, Music, Philosophical Dilemmas, Religious Content, Religious Themes, Seduction, Soul Bond, The Seduction of Mairon, Timeless Halls, TimelessHallsbang, Vala/maia, angbang, disembodied characters, the creation of the Ainur, valarin names
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 18:19:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11765664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morgause1/pseuds/Morgause1
Summary: A bard tells of the creation of the Ainur and the first encounter of Melkor and Mairon. Set in the Timeless halls before the Ainulindalë.





	The Music

**Author's Note:**

> This is another take on the symbiotic Soul Bond between the Valar and Eru, and between the Maiar and their Valar. Like Matter, the Spirit forms constructions: a Maia’s soul is Bound (or Claimed) by a Vala so it could serve as its helper and fulfill its function. The Soul Bond allows for exchange of energy and of understanding. The smaller Maiarin spirits are dependent on this Bond: like the small masses of planets, they need a larger spirit to orbit around so they would remain anchored and won’t starve for energy. Same goes for the Valar, who need their Soul Bond with Eru.  
> As the plot takes place in the Timeless Halls and tells of unclad spirits, I used neutral pronouns and the Valarin versions of the names of the Valar, scraped from around the internet (like here: https://valarinventures.tumblr.com/post/118861052488/reconstructed-valarin-names):  
> Aȝūlēz – Aulë.  
> Mānawenūz – Manwë.  
> Niyennâz – Nienna.  
> Belekôrôz – Melkor.

In the Beginning there was only the One, whom we the Elves nowadays name Eru Ilúvatar, and He was every-thing and every-where and every-time, for none of these terms held any meaning in the all-encompassing Oneness. But at a certain point in that Oneness, something happened.

Suddenly there was no more Oneness, but two things became separated from one another. For the All-Father had withdrawn and gave away some of His Light to create a thing that never was before: a circle formed around the blinding Light of His throne. That thick ring He named Spirit. It was darker than Eru but still shone bright, as it was Bound to Him by bonds most enduring. And Ilúvatar saw all that He had made, and it was good.

Spirit was then still undifferentiated and unformed, like the first flickers of thought dashing through a fetus as its brain starts forming in the warm, salty waters of the womb. It fed off Eru’s energy and when it was strong enough, a ripple passed through it, breaking its Light like a prism. The all-encompassing white Light became a rainbow, brightest and most vivid around the throne and then fading gradually into gray at the fringes. The homogenous Spirit started dividing as different entities took mass and color from the rippling which still coursed through it. Meaning started leaking into the circle and with it Purpose, a sense of direction and an understanding of Eru’s Will. As a result, the entities which were closest to Eru and the brightest gained a name, and that name denoted their Purpose as tools in the hands of the One. Thus were formed the Valar, the great Powers which now abide in the Undying West beyond the Sea.

Behind the great Valar, paler and smaller and still struggling to find their color and allegiance, were arrayed the Maiar, the Admirable ones who were created to be the servants of the Valar and their helpers. One of the strongest among them was the one we call Sauron. Do not startle, my good folk, but hark and listen! It was not evil yet in those days before days, and many years would pass before it became the Enemy whom we now must fight. Beautiful it was and restless, eager but directionless. And so it waited and it watched, while all around it Music began to swell. It was not yet the Ainulindalë which created this world but it was important nonetheless, as by it the Ainur, the fragments of that ancient Spirit, divided into hosts with regard to their respective Purpose in the grand scheme of the One.

The Maia was standing somewhere behind the Aȝūlēz. The Vala was golden and gray and sang its essence: Matter, forming and flowing in abrupt waves to create things new and magnificent. The Maia tasted the Vala’s Song and trembled with excitement, for it found strands of the same Music within its own little soul. It began to drift towards the Aȝūlēz, painting itself golden as the Vala was. The Vala beckoned towards it, laughing merrily and extending itself to encompass the Maia in the warm embrace of a Claiming. But before it could reach it, the Maia wavered and stopped.

New notes reached the Maia and it turned towards their source. It was the brightest of the Valar, the one standing between the Aȝūlēz and the Mānawenūz its sibling, and across from the Niyennâz, its opposite. Belekôrôz was the name of that Spirit and it sang loudly, a glittering symphony that bewildered and enchanted the Maia. The Music rose and fell and rose again, stronger and smoother than anyone else’s. Although it was slightly reminiscent of the Song of the Aȝūlēz, something about it was very different from anything the others could make. It made the Maia drift towards it, attracted by its beauty. The Maia’s color flickered for a moment, changing to the Belekôrôz’s ultra-violet glare – but only for a moment. Fear filled the Maia and then repulsion: it was too loud, too different. It could not be accepted by the Ainur. The Maia had little comprehension of Eru, but instinctively felt that He would not like this. The Maia backed off in shame, glad that no one noticed its color change, but then was filled with dread as the Belekôrôz turned fully towards it and regarded it with uttermost interest.

Pinned and helpless, the Maia felt itself pulled toward the dazzling Vala as it spread out to Claim it. It fought against the pull, weakly at first and then harder and harder. No Vala can Bind a Maia to itself without their consent, as the Dark One learned later when he tried to Claim the Maiden Arien against her will. For now the pulling stopped, although the Maia could tell that the Belekôrôz was not pleased. It fled back towards the Aȝūlēz, who accepted it as happily as before. The Maia was glad, and if it sneaked one last look at the Belekôrôz before the Aȝūlēz’s warm spirit engulfed its own, no tale tells of it. But it did not forget, and neither did the Belekôrôz, to the misfortune of us all. But the hour grows late and such matters must not be discussed in the dark! So if you will kindly bring me some more of that wine, O gracious lady, I would sing for you the songs I learned from the South Wind, and we shall while away the rest of the night in merriment and cheer while we still might.


End file.
